If a disability is keeping you from working, you still have a life to live and bills to pay. Social Security disability benefits are designed to help you with your financial responsibilities so you can move on with your life. However, the application process can be daunting, especially for first-time applicants. Simple errors or insufficient supporting evidence can easily derail your application. Do you need an attorney to apply for SSDI benefits? No. However, having an experienced Social Security disability lawyer to help you file your Social Security disability application can ensure that your application gets filed correctly the first time so you can access the benefits you need and deserve. 

What Are Your Chances of Being Denied SSDI?

Proving eligibility and getting approved for Social Security Disability Insurance can be a slow and complicated process. Unfortunately, only about one in three first-time SSDI applicants are approved for benefits each year. On top of that, to overturn a denial, an applicant must then go through an appeal process and wait their turn again. Some applicants go through months and even years appealing an SSDI denial. Most applicants don’t have that kind of time. 

What You Need to Consider Before Filing a Claim for SSDI

Before you file for Social Security Disability Insurance, you should consider some important things to understand your eligibility fully.

• Are you working? Social Security has strict limits on what work you can perform and how much you can make while collecting benefits. If you are working and make a monthly income of over $1860 while disabled, or you can resume your regular work within a year, you won’t be eligible for benefits. 
• How severe is your condition? Your condition or combination of conditions must be severe enough to interfere with basic work-related activities. These conditions can be physical or mental, but you will need significant evidence to prove them. An experienced SSDI attorney in Marlton can help you collect sufficient and suitable evidence to prove the severity of your disability that Social Security will recognize.
• Is your condition listed as a disabling condition with Social Security? This is when it can become a gray area. Social Security maintains lists of disabling conditions by “major body systems.” If your disability does not fall on a list, Social Security will then decide if your condition is severe enough to warrant disability benefits, given several different variables. 
• Is your disability not at the level of severity as a condition on the list, but you still can’t perform your previous work? Just because you can’t work at your old job doesn’t mean you will be approved for benefits. Social Security will then determine if you can perform another type of work. 
• Can you do any other work? Social Security will consider your age, education, past work experience, and any transferable skills to determine if you can do other work. If so, your claim will most likely be denied. 

Why are many people denied SSDI benefits today? Having an experienced Social Security disability lawyer on your side ensures a knowledgeable advocate works with you step-by-step during your application process, making it more likely to be approved for benefits the first time around. 

What are the Eligibility Requirements for SSDI?

To be approved for disability benefits, you must meet several layers of Social Security’s stringent eligibility requirements. 

First, you must prove that you have been employed at a job long enough and recently enough that was covered by Social Security. You must then prove you have a condition that is considered a qualifying disability under its rules and meet the following criteria:

• You can’t work at the Substantial Gainful Activity level because of your disability. 
• You can’t do the work you previously did or adjust to any other work because of your disability.
• Your disability has lasted for at least a year, is expected to last for at least a year, or will eventually result in your death. 

Now, You Will Need to Prove the Severity of Your Disability

Furthermore, Social Security doesn’t just take your word that you’re disabled and fulfill their requirements. You will have to provide overwhelming evidence that supports your claim. At the very least, you will need a doctor’s formal diagnosis, imaging scans, and lab tests to back it up. But sometimes, these aren’t even enough.

• Your medical test results and doctor’s reports should be under six months old, especially if your condition changes. 
• Social Security will only consider records from acceptable sources. For instance, don’t expect them to necessarily consider a diagnosis from a chiropractor if a medical doctor can’t support it.
• You will need to provide diagnostics, scans, and documents to support every facet of your claim.
• You will need to present a detailed list of the job tasks you’re qualified for and a list of your current limitations that prevent you from performing them, with supporting medical evidence. 

What If You Could Apply for SSDI Correctly the First Time So You Are More Likely to Get Approved?

You can appeal the denial if you get denied after the initial application. However, the appeal process can be equally complex and time-consuming. Without a knowledgeable advocate, you could be stuck in the appeal process for a long time and never receive the approval you need. 

What could a Marlton SSDI lawyer do for you, so you don’t end up on that SSDI merry-go-round?

• A Social Security disability attorney can look over your case and develop a strategy to work from to ensure your greatest success.
• An SSDI attorney in Marlton can help you understand SSA eligibility requirements and guide you in collecting what you will need to support your disability to Social Security. 
• An attorney can help you fill out your Social Security disability application and ensure it is correct and properly supported.
• An attorney can help you gather medical records as evidence of your disability.
• An SSDI lawyer in Marlton can provide updates on your application process and let you know if there are any issues.  
• A Social Security disability attorney can advise and represent you in the appeal process if you have been denied. 

Filing for SSDI benefits can be daunting. Let us help. As members of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, the Marlton SSDI attorneys at Silver & Silver excel in our ability to assist you at any stage of your application or appeal. Call us to schedule a no-cost consultation at (610) 638-7255 or contact us through our website contact form. Let us help you get the benefits you deserve. 

Disclosure:

This website is designed to provide only general information. The information presented on this website is not formal legal advice. You should not rely on any general information from any source for making legal decisions. Each legal matter is unique and requires specific attention from a qualified and experienced attorney. Unless a representation agreement has been signed with the Law Offices of Silver and Silver, we are not your legal representatives.